The Creatures That We Are

Gao Yang and Officer Huang exchanged a smile, unbothered by the three surviving monsters. Instead, they helped the injured Chen Ying and Dick stand up.

Qing Ling charged at the three monsters with her two blades while manipulating the three sharp Black Gold darts, moving swiftly yet elegantly as she swung her blades, decapitating the three elite monsters with quick slashes.

“That brought me back,” said Officer Huang. “The last time we fought together was the Gu Family’s Village.”

“Wasn't it the chemical plant?” Gao Yang responded with a smile.

“That time, Qing Ling and I went to your rescue. We didn’t fight together. Don’t confuse the two.” Officer Huang arched an eyebrow. “You were all beaten up by Black Tortoise by then.”

“Ahem, it’s all in the past.” Gao Yang grumbled inwardly, I have a reputation to maintain here.

Nainai jumped out of Gao Yang’s pocket then and turned into normal size. She put on the disposable gloves in the medical supply bag she carried, shrinking down her two fingers into tweezers to extract the bullets from Chen Ying’s calf and Dick’s arm. Then she injected their gunshot wounds each with a third of a shot of Medicine C.

Clenching her teeth to endure the pain, Chen Ying said with a pale face, her forehead covered in cold sweat, “Thank you.”

Nainai quietly disinfected her wound and patched her up.

Gao Yang was a little surprised. The girl was dependable as long as she didn’t open her mouth.

He said, “We’re exposed. Let’s get out of here.”

“There’s no need.” The voice came from the tunnel. They turned to see Lithe Snake coming up to them.

He was holding a bloodied shortsword with crimson stains covering his face. “I heard gunshots and guessed that you must have gotten ambushed, so I dealt with the guards outside.”

Gao Yang wasn’t sure what expression he should put on. As expected of Brother Lithe Snake, silent but deadly.

“Well then.” Gao Yang looked up at the poor wanderers trapped in the metal cages. “Release them and make an anonymous call to the police.”

Qing Ling and Officer Huang nodded. They jumped onto the higher level of the basement and found the control panel, lowering the metal cages. Qing Ling then cut the locks open with her blades.

Once the cages opened, the wanderers cowered fearfully rather than come out.

Officer Huang and Qing Ling exchanged a glance, deciding not to intervene further.

Nainai had finished bandaging Chen Ying.

Chen Ying stared at Dick and demanded, “What’s going on, Dick? Were you made?”

“I, I don’t know.” Dick suddenly lost his confidence, his expression blanking.

Gao Yang watched him. Something wasn’t right.

He had used Lie Detection on the man, which ruled out the possibility of him being a spy. Everything they found in this basement, however, made it clear that the enemies had known that they were coming and laid down a trap.

Dick was an outstanding intelligence agent with good counter-recon skills. It was unlikely for him to make such a mistake.

Kneeling on the floor, Dick suddenly picked up a submachine gun and pointed it at Gao Yang, Chen Ying, and Nainai, about to pull the trigger.

A dart pierced into his arm then. Dick cried out in pain, dropping the gun.

Gao Yang teleported to him and grabbed his neck, slamming him into the wall behind.

Dick wasn’t much of a fighter. Instead of resisting, he covered his right arm, pierced by the dart, his expression fearful and confused.

Gao Yang questioned icily, “Did you join the Godbearer Cult?”

“No, I didn’t. I haven’t joined them...” Dick struggled, the pupils of his grayish blue eyes dilating. “I didn’t betray you!”

“You just tried to kill us. What do you say about that?”

Dick paused. It seemed that he couldn’t remember what he had just done at all. “I don’t know. I...I don’t know what’s with me... I really don’t know.”

Gao Yang frowned. Is Dick acting? Does he have schizophrenia or something?

“Captain,” Lithe Snake said in a cold voice. “He’s not gonna live for long.”

Gao Yang started, noticing the strange evil energy emerging in Dick’s chest.

Gao Yang let go of him and took a few steps back.

Face suddenly pale and distorted with pain, Dick dropped to his knees, holding onto his chest. “Ugh, help... Help me... I...I don’t feel well... I don’t wanna die...”

“Aghhh!!”

He widened his arms and howled in pain.

Fire burst out from the center of his chest, burning through his shirt and smoking thickly. The fabric wasn’t set on fire, however. It seemed more like an invisible branding iron had branded him.

Two seconds later, Dick collapsed to the ground, bleeding from the corners of his mouth, eyes widened with lingering regrets.

“Dick...” Chen Ying said hoarsely. She couldn’t believe that he would just die like that.

Gao Yang made sure there was no danger before going up to the man, crouching down to lift the shirt from his chest. He was surprised to find a gory brand mark at the center. It was the dollar symbol.

It must be some sort of binding curse.

Dick was likely to have been controlled by a Talent of the manipulation or curse type, resulting in him losing control over his own action. He didn’t even know that he was under control.

That was why Lie Detection had failed to find anything wrong.

The Talent comes with many limitations. I shouldn’t rely on it too much, or I’ll get myself killed sooner or later.

“Dick...what happened to him?”

With a trace of sorrow in her eyes, Chen Ying walked up to Lithe Snake and held his gaze.

“He was controlled,” Lithe Snake said with certainty. He lifted his head and looked around. “When I got here, I realized at first glance how familiar the sight was. It turns out that it was him.”

“Who?” Gao Yang turned to him.

“An old friend,” Lithe Snake said with ice-cold, venomous hatred. “I’ve been looking for him for years.”

An old grudge, Gao Yang thought.

“I have a request, Captain.” Lithe Snake looked at Gao Yang with fierce eyes. “I will be the one to make the final strike to kill him.”

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